A woman who ran a brothel at Cambridge and controlled prostitutes across the country, for her own financial gain has been jailed for five years.

Sun Sun Wong, 42, of Blucher Street, Birmingham was sentenced at Cambridge Crown Court following a seven day trial.

She was found guilty of two counts of controlling prostitution for gain and one count of money laundering.

Undercover officers posing as potential clients contacted women on various adult sites as part of an operation to safeguard vulnerable prostitutes.

Andrew McKeane, detective constable, said: “This type of crime affects all walks of life but especially the vulnerable who turn to the sex industry in their lowest moments.

“I speak to those people when I say I hope this sentence shows that police are committed to investigating these crimes.

“If you are being exploited in any way then I urge you to contact us or Crimestoppers so we can help you turn your life around.”

Wong was sentenced to 42 months for one count of controlling prostitution for gain, four years for the second count and five years for money laundering. They will be served concurrently.

In October 2015, January 2016 and February 2016 they arranged to meet with two women and were given an address in Midsummer Court, Cambridge.

Each time they were greeted by lone women who didn’t have the mobile phone used to make the appointment.

In February 2016 they also met a woman in Blucher Street, Birmingham.

Investigations revealed that the properties they were using was being rented out by Wong and her mobile phone number was linked to the accounts set up in the names of various prostitutes working in Cambridge and Birmingham.

Further work revealed more than £400,000 had been paid into her various bank accounts over a two year period. Payments of between £1,500 and £2,500 were often deposited weekly.

Throughout the trial Wong denied any involvement and claimed that a woman named Anita had used her identity to carry out the crimes but was never able to provide further details to police.